A day before Parliament session begins amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien lashed out at the BJP led Centre yet again over cancelation of the Question Hour. The 18-day Parliament session which includes the functioning of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will conclude on the 1st of October without any day off, owing to safety reasons in the midst of the pandemic.
“The government continues to mock Parliament. They have cancelled Question Hour, slashed Zero Hour by half, want to rush bills without any scrutiny and create an ordinance raj like never seen before in the last 70 years. The world and our glorious nation must know, this is very dangerous for democracy,” said Derek O'Brien.
On the 3rd of September, O'Brien had first condemned the government’s move not to allow Question Hour in Parliament in the Monsoon session. “You don’t allow #QuestionHour where ministers have to stand up and answer Qs from MPs and be held accountable. Now you only condescend to allow written Questions/Answers! Stop throwing crumbs. This is #Parliament Not Gujarat Gymkhana," read O’Brien’s earlier tweet.
His party colleague Mohua Moitra tweeted on the same day saying, “Asking questions in Court is Contempt Asking questions outside Parliament is Sedition And now Asking questions inside Parliament is Forbidden.”
The ruling TMC administration in West Bengal faced flak thereafter over cancelling the Question Hour in the two day Monsoon session in the state assembly, after condemning a similar move in Parliament by the BJP led Central government.
O’Brien retorted by saying that cancelling Question Hour in Parliament should not be compared to a two-day Monsoon session in West Bengal Assembly. The state Assembly session was eventually reduced to a one day session on the 9th of September.
